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Tuesday, December 10, 2013

High of Zero

We've had a week of Arctic temps here in Minneapolis. The radio says we're heading for a "high of zero" today. Fahrenheit, that is. That's -18º Celsius.

A friend in England writes, "...I hope the terrible weather we are hearing about here is not as bad as we are being told..."

Of course it's deadly if you are homeless, say, but the extreme cold comes with beautiful bright skies, and as long as you keep moving and as long as you have enough clothes on, it can be kind of jolly outside. In fact, you can go mad from feeling trapped inside, so it's important to get out.As long as you have enough clothes on.

Marz walked 1.5 miles home from work the other night at -10º F (-23º C). Here she is, disrobing afterward.

You can see through a scarf ^ well enough to avoid walking into trees and traffic, which is all you really need to see if you know where you're going.

^ fuzzy ear-flap hat under the coat's hood...

^ goose down coat over wool sweater...

^ wool sweater over silk turtleneck...

Cotton isn't recommended as a bottom layer ^ because it doesn't wick moisture, but when it's this cold, it seems your body doesn't generate enough heat to sweat...

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I was going to add this in the post, but sometimes Blogger makes it too weird to add text amidst photos. So here's the etymology of "Arctic":Arctic:late 14c., artik, from Old French artique, from Medieval Latin articus, from Latin arcticus, from Greek arktikos "of the north," literally "of the (constellation) Bear," from arktos "bear; Ursa Major; the region of the north," the Bear being a northerly constellation, from *rkto-, the usual Indo-European base for "bear"...

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